Tian Jianan Program

Tian Jianan was born in 1994 in China. At age 5, Tian followed teacher Pu Li to study piano accordion. In 2005, she studied key-button free bass accordion with Cao Xiao-Qing, the professor of accordion at the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing. Owing to her outstanding exam results, Tian gained admittance to the middle school affiliated with the Central Conservatory of Music in September 2006.

Tian Jianan poster in Chinese

Under the expert instruction of Professor Cao Xiao-Qing, Tian Jianan has achieved numerous successes at international competitions — winning first-prize honors a total of 31 times. For nine of those top honors, Tian is the first Chinese player to have claimed first prize. Tian has competed in the Castel dardo (Italy), the Klingenthal (Germany), Moscow, Coupe Mondiale (New Zealand), Canada, and Lithuania accordion competitions, among others. China’s Ministry of Culture has given her the “World First- Class Art Competition” award five times.

In September 2012, Tian was recommended for admission to the Central Conservatory of Music. There, she was chosen for the school’s BOB Project, representing her dedication, hard work and talent.

Tian’s performances have earned high marks from accordion experts Professor Elsbeth Moser at the Hanover Academy of Music, Frank Marocco, the American jazz accordion performer; and other artists from around the world. Franck Angelis, a renowned French composer, composed the suite Beijing 2011 for her, which won “the best original solo work award” at Coupe Mondiale.

Tian is now in her senior year of accordion at the Central Conservatory of Music and in her sophomore year of composition (as a second major). Her latest chamber piece, Memento, received the Outstanding Work prize in China’s Yan-Huang Composition Competition, and Tian earned the Best Performer prize at the competition’s final concert.